Treatment and diagnostic systems for the eye

Abstract

The invention refers to a system to treat and/or diagnose a patient's eye. The system in this invention comprises several devices for the treatment and/or diagnosis of the eye as well as means for the logical linking of the devices with each other, such as systems for the spatial positioning of the devices relative to each other, configurations for the positioning of the patient and the eye to be treated relative to the respective devices, systems for the controlled supply of the devices with power and auxiliary power, and/or notification tools to transmit information or control commands between the above-mentioned devices, units, configurations and systems, and to put out information.

1 - 26 . (canceled)  
   
   
       27 . A system for the treatment and/or diagnosis of a patient's eye, comprising: 
 a plurality of clinical devices for the treatment and diagnosis of the eye;    means for logistical linking of the clinical devices with each other, including    spatial positioning devices to spatially position the clinical devices relative to one another    a patient positioner to position the patient and the eye to be treated relative to the clinical devices;    control systems to control power and auxiliary energy supply to the devices and/or notification tools to transmit information or control commands between the clinical devices, spatial positioning devices, patient positioner and control systems, and to output information.    
   
   
       28 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , in which the clinical devices, include a preceding device that is used prior to a subsequent device in a time sequence, and 
 further in which the notification tools automatically transmit and output information regarding whether the patient has been positioned properly at a subsequent device after arriving from a preceding device.    
   
   
       29 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the notification tool includes mechanical, electronic, and/or opto-electronic interfaces to capture, process, transmit and output data related to the patient, the positioning of the patient's eye and/or the treatment or diagnosis procedure.  
   
   
       30 . The system as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein patient-related identification, diagnostic, and/or therapy data is captured, processed and transmitted between the clinical devices.  
   
   
       31 . The system as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein treatment-related configuration data, protocol data, and/or control signals are captured and processed and transmitted between the clinical devices.  
   
   
       32 . The system as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein data regarding safety when positioning the patient's eye is captured, processed, transmitted, and output relative to the clinical devices.  
   
   
       33 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the notification tools further comprise at least one interface for manual data input and/or transfer of data from one or more devices to a data processing unit or into data storage, and at least one opto-electronic display unit.  
   
   
       34 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein one of the clinical devices comprises a Femto second laser device that is used to create a flap cut in the surface of the cornea prior, and 
 another of the clinical devices comprises an Excimer laser that is used to ablate the cornea.    
   
   
       35 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein one of the clinical devices comprises a laser keratome that is used to create a flap cut in the surface of a cornea, and another of the clinical devices comprises a stationary laser working in a UV range that is used for the ablation of the cornea.  
   
   
       36 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein one of the clinical devices is selected from a group consisting of slit lamps, optical arrangements for 3D measuring and to check geometry in accordance with Scheimpflug, systems for optical coherence tomography (OCT), systems for topography, systems for wave front diagnostics and systems for pachymetry.  
   
   
       37 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the patient positioning system supporting the patient is guided on a track and the patient positioning system is movable to position the patient 
 in a first position wherein the patient's eye is located in a first treatment area of one of the clinical devices to create a flap cut in the surface of the cornea,    in a second position wherein the patient's eye is located in a second treatment area of one of the clinical devices to ablate the tissue of the cornea, or    in a third or further position wherein the patient's eye is located in a measuring or monitoring area of a clinical device to diagnose the eye, and wherein the notification tools comprise systems for position detection and/or the stopping of the patient positioning system.    
   
   
       38 . The system as claimed in  claim 37 , wherein the patient positioning system: 
 is located on a circular track, where the first, second, third and further positions are positions on this track, or    takes place by rotating the patient positioning system around a rotating axis ( 24 ) which is situated between the middle and the foot end of the patient positioning system ( 3 ), or    takes place by moving the patient along a straight track, where the preferred positions are positions on this track.    
   
   
       39 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , further comprising at least one entry and exit area for the patient.  
   
   
       40 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the patient positioner further comprises at a positioning drive; 
 the positioning drive is operably connected to a positioning control;    the positioning control transmits control commands to the positioning drive, and    the positioning is operable to control and confirm preset positions.    
   
   
       41 . The system as claimed in  claim 40 , wherein the positioning control further comprises 
 an input module for the manual setting of the control commands, or    a control for the automatic generation of the control commands by means of distance or force values captured by a readings recorder.    
   
   
       42 . The system as claimed in  claim 41 , further comprising an incremental or absolute measuring positioning measurement system or an optical positioning measurement system with a camera module to capture distance values which is operably connected to the positioning system.  
   
   
       43 . System as claimed in  claim 39 , further comprising a positioning control module operably connected to a device for fully automated patient and eye positioning, which comprises a navigation supported drive control having elements to capture and guide the position of the eye and sensors to detect obstacles, wherein the control module is operably connected with one of the sensors and the drive control to facilitate avoiding obstacles.  
   
   
       44 . The system as claimed in  claim 36 , further comprising, to position the patient: 
 a headrest for the patient and a mobile contact glass that can be placed on the eye and through which the laser beam will penetrate the eye,    a force readings recorder for reading the force that the contact glass is applied with, and    a safety mechanism operably coupled with the force readings recorder that will move the contact glass and the headrest apart if the contact glass is applied to the eye using excessive force.    
   
   
       45 . The system as claimed in  claim 44 , wherein the safety mechanism does not initiate the separation of the contact glass from the headrest until a preset limit value has been exceeded and adjusts the relative position of these two items accordingly if the limit value is not reached.  
   
   
       46 . The system as claimed in  claim 44 , further comprising a common base body to hold the devices and brackets to attach the devices to the base body.  
   
   
       47 . The system as claimed in  claim 46 , wherein the base body further comprises a base with guided tracks for the patient's movement when the patient positioning system's location is changed relative to the clinical devices.  
   
   
       48 . The system as claimed in  claim 47 , where the guided tracks comprise rails integrated in the base.  
   
   
       49 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the notification tools comprise connections for wireless or wired transmission of data selected from a group consisting of a peer to peer system, a server-based network, a bus, network, a star network, and a ring network.  
   
   
       50 . The system as claimed in  claim 49 , wherein the transmission of the data is wired and parts of the network are located inside a base body.  
   
   
       51 . The system as claimed in  claim 27 , where the clinical devices are connected to a central power supply to receive power.  
   
   
       52 . The system as claimed in  claim 51 , wherein the central power supply source comprises an emergency backup power unit.